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| 12% others }} |status = Unincorporated area |official_languages = Norwegian, Russian |capital = Longyearbyen |largest_city = capital |membership_type = Sovereign state |membership = |government_type = |leader_title1 = Governor |leader_name1 = |area_km2 = 61,022 |area_sq_mi = 23,561 |population_estimate = 2,642 |population_estimate_year = 2012〔 |currency = Norwegian krone |currency_code = NOK |time_zone = CET |utc_offset = +1 |time_zone_DST = CEST |utc_offset_DST = +2 |cctld = .no a |calling_code = +47 |footnote_a = .sj allocated but not used. }} Svalbard ((:ˈsʋɑ(ː)lbɑːɾ) ; formerly known by its Dutch name Spitsbergen) is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. Situated north of mainland Europe, it is about midway between continental Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range from 74° to 81° north latitude, and from 10° to 35° east longitude. The largest island is Spitsbergen, followed by Nordaustlandet and Edgeøya. Administratively, the archipelago is not part of any Norwegian county, but forms an unincorporated area administered by a governor appointed by the Norwegian government. Since 2002, Svalbard's main settlement, Longyearbyen, has had an elected local government, somewhat similar to mainland municipalities. Other settlements include the Russian mining community of Barentsburg, the research station of Ny-Ålesund, and the mining outpost of Sveagruva. Svalbard is the northernmost settlement in the world with a permanent civilian population. Other settlements are farther north, but are populated only by rotating groups of researchers; e.g. Alert, Nunavut—the northernmost year-round community. The islands were first taken into use as a whaling base in the 17th and 18th centuries, after which they were abandoned. Coal mining started at the beginning of the 20th century, and several permanent communities were established. The Svalbard Treaty of 1920 recognizes Norwegian sovereignty, and the 1925 Svalbard Act made Svalbard a full part of the Kingdom of Norway. They also established Svalbard as a free economic zone and a demilitarized zone. The Norwegian Store Norske and the Russian Arktikugol remain the only mining companies in place. Research and tourism have become important supplementary industries, with the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault playing critical roles. No roads connect the settlements; instead snowmobiles, aircraft and boats serve inter-community transport. Svalbard Airport, Longyear serves as the main gateway. The archipelago features an Arctic climate, although with significantly higher temperatures than other areas at the same latitude. The flora take advantage of the long period of midnight sun to compensate for the polar night. Svalbard is a breeding ground for many seabirds, and also features polar bears, reindeer, the Arctic fox, and certain marine mammals. Seven national parks and twenty-three nature reserves cover two-thirds of the archipelago, protecting the largely untouched, yet fragile, natural environment. Approximately 60% of the archipelago is covered with glaciers, and the islands feature many mountains and fjords. Svalbard and Jan Mayen are collectively assigned the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code "SJ". Both areas are administered by Norway, though they are separated by a distance of over 500 nautical miles (approximately 600 miles or 950 kilometres) and have very different administrative structures. ==Geography== The Svalbard Treaty of 1920 defines Svalbard as all islands, islets and skerries from 74° to 81° north latitude, and from 10° to 35° east longitude. The land area is , and dominated by the island of Spitsbergen, which constitutes more than half the archipelago, followed by Nordaustlandet and Edgeøya. All settlements are located on Spitsbergen, except the meteorological outposts on Bjørnøya and Hopen.〔 The Norwegian state took possession of all unclaimed land, or 95.2% of the archipelago, at the time the Svalbard Treaty entered into force; Store Norske owns 4%, Arktikugol owns 0.4%, while other private owners hold 0.4%.〔 Since Svalbard is located north of the Arctic Circle it experiences midnight sun in summer and polar night in winter. At 74° north, the midnight sun lasts 99 days and polar night 84 days, while the respective figures at 81° are 141 and 128 days.〔Torkilsen (1984): 96–97〕 In Longyearbyen, midnight sun lasts from 20 April until 23 August, and polar night lasts from 26 October to 15 February.〔 In winter, the combination of full moon and reflective snow can give additional light.〔 Glacial ice covers or 60% of Svalbard; 30% is barren rock while 10% is vegetated.〔Umbreit (2005): 3〕 The largest glacier is Austfonna () on Nordaustlandet, followed by Olav V Land and Vestfonna. During summer, it is possible to ski from Sørkapp in the south to the north of Spitsbergen, with only a short distance not being covered by snow or glacier. Kvitøya is 99.3% covered by glacier.〔Torkildsen (1984): 102–104〕 The landforms of Svalbard were created through repeated ice ages, when glaciers cut the former plateau into fjords, valleys and mountains.〔Umbreit (2005): 4–6〕 The tallest peak is Newtontoppen (), followed by Perriertoppen (), Ceresfjellet (), Chadwickryggen () and Galileotoppen (). The longest fjord is Wijdefjorden (), followed by Isfjorden (), Van Mijenfjorden (), Woodfjorden () and Wahlenbergfjorden (). Svalbard is part of the High Arctic Large Igneous Province, and experienced Norway's strongest earthquake on 6 March 2009, which hit 6.5 on the Richter scale. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Svalbard」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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